Recovered: PALACE RUN 0.2

I wrote this game that I’m very pleased with. I’m hoping to enter it in the 200 word RPG competition when submissions are open. Until then, I’ll be playtesting it and tweaking it on Discord, and you should hit me up for a link to the server if you’re interested. (2024: This is not currently still true.)

The south section of the Grand Corridor, Windsor Castle; Joseph Nash via Royal Collection Trust.

Rules

The current version, at time of writing.

One player is REFEREE. Others, CHARACTERS.
"d6" means "six-sided die". "d20", 20-sided.

CHARACTERS
===
Choose name, POSSESSION. STAT=18.
CHECK or SAVE: roll d20<=STAT.
(CHECKS do; SAVES avoid.)
Attacks auto-hit, d6 damage to STAT.
After 2+ damage, SAVE. Failure --> STAT=1.
STAT<=0 --> death.
REST --> STAT=18.

POSSESSIONS
- Sword (+1 damage)
- Hand-mirror
- Marbles (100)
- Chalk
- Glue
- Flute
- Rope
- Wine
- Bucket
- Hammer

ROOMS
===
d6  ROOM    CONTENTS
1.  Courtyard   Plants
2.  Gallery Sculptures
3.  Ballroom    Pillows
4.  Bedroom Baskets
5.  Kitchen Banquet
6.  Library Fountain

d6  EXITS   FEATURE
1.  N-E ENCOUNTER
2.  N-S GLINT
3.  N-W TREASURE
4.  S-E TWIST
5.  S-W Way UP
6.  E-W Way DOWN

ENCOUNTERS
===
2-in-6 whenever CHARACTERS dawdle, REST, or clamor.
Flight auto-succeeds, CHECK or become lost.
d6  Mood    Encounter
1.  Sleepy  Guards
2.  Happy   Nobles
3.  Sad Animals
4.  Afraid  Servants
5.  Hungry  Intruders
6.  Angry   Supernatural

GLINTS
===
Encounter clues.

TREASURE (d6)
===
1. Jewels
2. Wine
3. Porcelain
4. Tapestry
5. Letters
6. Gold

TWIST (d6)
===
1. 1 damage crossing (example: thorns).
2. Secret Door: CHECK locates.
3. Oubliette: SAVE or fall (d6 damage).
4. Non-Euclidean: exits to far rooms.
5. Unique room-type (example: laboratory).
6. Palace exit.

(194 words!)

Fontainebleau, France by Henrik Berger Jørgensen, CC BY-NC-ND, via Flickr.

Inspirations

Interiors of the Winter Palace. The Third Reserved Apartment. The Study Room; Ivan Volsky via The State Hermitage Museum.

Sparks

Tables are rough to fit in the game because each number also counts as a word. A d6 table is a minimum of 14 words. So I put this together, but can’t even begin to fit it in. I worry that some of the words are too similar anyway though.

d20	Spark 1	Spark 2
1	ancient	banquet
2	black-market	ceremony
3	crystal	chandelier
4	dancing	chivalry
5	decadent	diplomacy
6	exotic	education
7	foreign	espionage
8	gambling	façade
9	gilt	gift
10	hidden	history
11	honorable	hunting
12	illegitimate	inheritance
13	ivory	intrigue
14	legal	marriage
15	luxury	money
16	mahogany	music
17	marble	piety
18	painted	taxes
19	social	tradition
20	usurping	war

Palacio de Sástago by kinojam, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, via Flickr.

Notes

It works well so far. I’m running a game on discord that’s a mostly-straight whimsical fantasy palace. One of my players is putting together another game that’s flavored after Darkest Dungeons. We haven’t yet used the combat rules in anger, and running a game on Discord takes getting used to, but I’m optimistic.

The Great Tapestry Hall, Hampton Court Palace; Leon R. Pescheret via Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In a richly-tiled room corner, a wooden door is painted to look like the surrounding tile work, although age has darkened it to be more obvious. La Casa de Pilatos.

A partial statue of Athena stands in a courtyard. In collaged images, her shield, mace, and helm are shown, distributed throughout the rest of the palace. La Casa de Pilatos.